Rose Elliot - Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian

1 tbsp wine vinegar (preferably red)

3–4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything together, adding plenty of seasoning. Some chopped fresh herbs, a crushed garlic clove, also a little mustard and a dash of sugar, can be added to vary the flavour. You can also use different vinegars, such as cider or raspberry vinegar for a fruity flavour, balsamic vinegar for a rich, slightly sweet, mellow flavour, or rice vinegar, which is light and delicate.

VARIATION

Make as described, with 1–2 tablespoons of walnut oil replacing the same quantity of olive oil. Adding a crushed garlic clove also works well.

This is a fresh-tasting, slightly sharp dressing that’s good with most salad.

SERVES 4–6

275ml (10fl oz) natural yoghurt

1–2 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs, especially flat-leaf parsley, also chives and mint

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in the chopped herbs, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

VARIATION

Make as in the main recipe, using 3 tablespoons of chopped spring onions instead of the chopped herbs.

Sprouted beans, grains and lentils may sound a bit ‘knit your own yoghurt', but it’s worth doing as they can add an interesting, crunchy element to salads and are highly nutritious, being rich in vitamins and minerals and containing high-quality protein.

Sprouting is easy to do. All you need is a jar (a big coffee jar is ideal), a piece of muslin or J cloth to go over the top, secured with an elastic band, and some beans or seeds. Most types are suitable, with the exception of red kidney beans and large beans like butter beans. Good ones to use are chickpeas, whole lentils, sunflower seeds, mung beans, aduki beans. Or you can buy some ready-made mixes of seeds and beans, which take the same amount of time to sprout.

Put half a cupful of your chosen beans or seeds into your jar, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 8–12 hours. Put the piece of muslin or J cloth over the top of the jar. Then drain off the water, fill the jar with fresh water, swish it round and then pour it all out again. All this can be done without removing the muslin or J cloth, which prevents the seeds or beans falling out. This rinsing has to be repeated twice a day, to keep the seeds damp (but they mustn’t be left soaking in water or they’ll rot rather than sprout). When I’m sprouting seeds, I keep them by the sink to remind me about the rinsing. They’re ready when they’re grown a little tail – usually in 2–4 days. They can be used straight away, added to salads and sandwiches, or kept in the fridge for several days.

I love this French chickpea and vegetable salad, but with its creamy mayonnaise dressing it’s too high in fat and calories to enjoy very often. So I’ve gradually evolved ways of lightening it up. Chargrilled artichoke hearts can be bought from the deli section of any large supermarket.

SERVES 4–6

125g (4oz) chickpeas, soakedand cooked until tender or 400g can

350g (12oz) each of cooked carrots and cooked cut green beans

tub of chargrilled artichoke hearts

6 rounded tbsp natural yoghurt

6 rounded tbsp mayonnaise

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp wine vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper crisp lettuce and watercress

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Drain the chickpeas and put them into a large bowl with the carrots and beans.

Halve the artichoke hearts and add them to the bowl.

To make the dressing, put the yoghurt, mayonnaise, garlic and vinegar into a small bowl and mix well together until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix carefully until everything is well coated.

Line a serving dish with lettuce leaves and watercress, spoon the vegetable mixture on top and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

SERVES 4–6

450g (1lb) grated cabbage

2 carrots, grated

125g (4oz) alfalfa sprouts

balsamic dressing

Mix together all the vegetables, then add enough vinaigretteto moisten.

Made with fresh, tightly closed button mushrooms and ripe avocado, this is delicious.

SERVES 4

450g (1lb) baby button mushrooms

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 avocados

2 tbsp lemon juice

1–2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Wash the mushrooms, pat dry on kitchen paper and slice thinly. Put the slices into a bowl, add the vinegar, olive oil and some salt and pepper, and mix well. Leave to one side for 1 hour.

Just before you want to serve the salad, halve each avocado, remove the stone and peel. Cut the flesh into fairly large dice and sprinkle with the lemon juice.

Add to the mushrooms, together with the chopped chives, and mix gently.

In this salad, sprouted beansare combined with grated carrots, tomatoes, watercress and spring onions. It’s very vitalising!

SERVES 4

2 handfuls of mixed sprouts such as mung, chickpea, aduki and sunflower

350g (12oz) carrots, coarsely grated

4 large tomatoes, sliced

small bunch of spring onions, chopped

120g packet mixed baby leaf salad

80g packet watercress

vinaigrette dressing

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix gently. Add enough vinaigretteto moisten the salad and make it glisten. Season with a little salt and pepper and serve.

VARIATION

This is particularly attractive arranged in layers in a glass bowl, with tahini dressingpoured over the top.

This is a bit like a salad stir-fry! You could even serve it with some hot cooked rice or noodles.

SERVES 4

1 stick of celery, finely sliced

225g (8oz) beansprouts

175g (6oz) very fresh button mushrooms, finely sliced

a bunch of spring onions, sliced

a small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

grated rind and juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

dash of clear honey, maple or agave syrup

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the celery, bean sprouts, sliced mushrooms, spring onions and coriander in a bowl and mix gently.

Add the grated lime rind and juice, the sesame and olive oil and the soy sauce. Mix until everything is coated. Have a taste and add clear honey, maple or agave syrup, salt and pepper to taste.

Thin green French beans, tender broad beans and kidney beans in a tangy mustard dressing.

SERVES 4

225g (8oz) thin French beans, trimmed

225g (8oz) frozen broad beans

1 tbsp Dijon or wholegrain mild mustard

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil